Summary

In his introductory notes, Pritchett calls his book a "biographical and critical study." The author presents Chekhov's life chronologically, while at each stage concentrating on the relationships between life events and art, particularly with regard to the incidents and characters that find their way into Chekhov's stories. A typical chapter begins with the events of a given period and then presents lucid analyses of several stories or plays written during that time.

Commentary

The chapters dealing with the young Chekhov's determination to become his family's principal breadwinner, his early years of success at "chasing two hares" (i.e. medicine and writing), his extended fact-finding trip to Sakhalin Island (1890), and his final years as an invalid and marriage to Olga Knipper are especially rewarding.

Publisher

Random House

Place Published

New York

Edition

1988

Page Count

227